


one thing i need

by golden_sky



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Small Town, Christmas, F/F, Fluff, Jealous Lena Luthor, Lesbian Kara Danvers, Lesbian Lena Luthor, Mild Sexual Content, Mutual Pining, basically lena owns a diner and gets kara hooked on coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 13:24:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17162756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/golden_sky/pseuds/golden_sky
Summary: “I heard you have the best coffee in town,” Kara says, looking her up and down just slightly. If possible, her smile widens a fraction.“Uh,” Lena responds, scrambling to remember how to think. Kara’s eyes are a beautiful shade of blue behind her glasses, and that’s all her mind seems to want to focus on. “That’s what they say.”Or, Lena owns the only diner in a small town and Kara's just moved in.





	one thing i need

**Author's Note:**

> i finally wrote something that isn't completely angst!
> 
> and warning: some really minor kara/mon-el that is almost completely offscreen.

Lena’s wiping down the countertop when she hears the news.

 

“Someone bought the house on top of the hill,” Eve tells her coworkers excitedly. “A woman. I didn’t catch her name, but Sam apparently said she’s delightful.”

 

“It’s Alex’s sister,” Jess breaks in. “Her name’s Kara. Wanted to be closer to her family, I heard.”

 

“I heard she’s really cute,” Alana tells them. “We’re gonna have some competition.”

 

The entire table breaks into giggles, and Lena resists the urge to roll her eyes. The only downside to owning a diner is having to hear all of the town gossip. It’s even worse when the ones gossiping are her own employees.

 

“Not excited about the new girl?” Lucy asks, raising an eyebrow at her. James is giving her the exact same look. She hates it when they do that.

 

“No,” Lena says firmly. “Don’t see why I should be.”

 

“Well, Alex tells me she looooves to eat,” Lucy singsongs, her eyebrows wiggling just slightly. James laughs and grins at her.

 

“Then I guess I’ll be seeing her soon,” Lena shrugs. She’s still wiping at the same clean spot on the counter, has been for ten minutes.

 

She hates it when new people move into town. It’s not because they’re outsiders and she hates new people, no—it’s the way everyone freaks out. They’ll be talking about The New Girl for weeks if not months. They’ll be discussing every single move she makes. Lena will be expected to be extra nice to her just so that she doesn’t up and leave because Lena frowns all of the time.

 

It’s all bullshit, really.

 

Lena’s lived in Willow’s Peak, Vermont ever since she‘d fallen out with her family seven years ago. She’d been kicked out of the Luthor family business, and, embarrassed by her family name and all that came with it, had randomly chosen a small town, moved there, and opened up a diner.

 

So, yeah, she knows what it was like to be the new girl, and she had hated it. Didn’t see why it had to be such a big deal. And there’s no way she’s gonna gawk at this woman and treat her differently.

 

“Might meet her sooner rather than later,” James warns as he and Lucy pick up their stuff. Lena looks at him, and he nods towards the door.

 

Lena physically feels her heart drop into her stomach.

 

The woman is gorgeous in a small town girl kind of way. She’s got long blond hair and a big sincere smile like Lena never saw before she came here. She’s wearing a plaid shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and it perfectly molds itself to her obvious muscles.

 

Kara walks up to the counter, her big easygoing smile set into her face like stone.

 

“I heard you have the best coffee in town,” Kara says, looking her up and down just slightly. If possible, her smile widens a fraction.

 

“Uh,” Lena responds, scrambling to remember how to think. Kara’s eyes are a beautiful shade of blue behind her glasses, and that’s all her mind seems to want to focus on. “That’s what they say.”

 

Kara laughs and ducks her head, and Lena thinks she might explode. God, this woman is adorable.

 

“Well, I’m gonna need some of that injected directly into my veins,” Kara says, sitting down at the counter and holding out her wrist. “Turns out moving is a lot more stressful than I thought.”

 

Lena wants to smile, but instead she just hums in agreement and grabs the coffee pot and a cup.

 

“How do you take it?” Lena asks, motioning to the pot.

 

“I usually don’t,” Kara tells her with a completely straight face.

 

Lena just stops herself from spluttering.

 

“I don’t usually drink coffee,” Kara continues, oblivious to Lena’s minor heart attack. “What would you recommend?”

 

Lena blinks at her for a moment, half distracted by what she thought Kara was trying to say before. Eventually, she nods slowly, considering what she should give Kara.

 

“Why don’t we start you off black and we’ll go from there?” Lena suggests, and pours a cup of it, careful not to spill even though her hand is definitely shaking.

 

She slides it to Kara who smiles at her gratefully and takes a sip. Immediately disgust floods over her face and she shoves the mug away from her like she’s been burned.

 

“God, that’s disgusting!” she exclaims. She gives Lena an affronted look. “Why would you let me put that in my mouth?”

 

Lena stifles a laugh, grabbing milk and sugar from behind her.

 

“Just figuring out your tastes,” Lena placates, putting a healthy amount of milk and sugar in it. She passes the drink back to Kara, who tentatively takes a sip, her suspicious gaze peering over the rim. “How is it?”

 

Kara smiles and it’s like looking at the sun. Lena has to look away before she gets burned.

 

“So good,” Kara practically moans. She takes another deep sip. “I think I get why people love this stuff so much now.”

 

“That and the caffeine,” Lena says, dropping her rag behind her.

 

Kara gives her a toothy grin and pulls out her phone. She becomes fixated on it less than a moment later.

 

Lena gives her one last look before moving down the counter to where Eve, Jess, and Alana are, ogling Kara like she’s some animal at a zoo.

 

“This isn’t Entertainment Weekly, get back to work,” she tells them, raising an eyebrow when they don’t immediately follow her order.

 

Jess huffs and moves towards the kitchen, but both Eve and Alana pick up their pads without a word.

 

“You’re the boss?” Kara asks suddenly, and Lena realizes she had been watching her.

 

“My name is on the place,” Lena says, moving things around on the counter just so that she doesn’t have to look at Kara.

 

“You’re Lena?” Kara asks. Lena can hear her smile and can’t resist the small shy one that forms on her own face.

 

“The one and only,” Lena mumbles. She finally looks up at Kara who’s giving her a funny look.

 

“Must be nice, having your own diner,” Kara muses, leaning forward on the counter slightly.

 

“Has its ups and downs,” Lena admits. She loves the diner, so much more than she ever loved the corporate nightmare that was being a CEO, but the people...well, she guesses she loves them, even if she pretends not to. She guesses the rushes of people is more the problem than anything. That, and how nosy her patrons are.

 

“I’d imagine,” Kara says. She looks at Lena for a long minute, biting her lip. “So, any partners?”

 

For the second time, Lena has to stop herself from choking on the air. How could Kara be so blunt?

 

“In the diner, I mean,” Kara adds, but her smile is just cheeky enough that Lena wonders if she had meant it the other way.

 

“No, no,” Lena finally responds. “It’s just me. And Jess and Eve and Alana, but they all work for me.”

 

Kara smiles, and her tongue pokes out between her teeth. Lena kind of wants to die.

 

“Impressive,” Kara says. She reaches up to fiddle with her glasses before getting off the stool. “Well, I have to get back to unpacking. Thanks for the coffee!” Kara drops money on the counter, gives her a small wave and heads out, Lena watching her walk until she’s out of sight.

 

“She is cute, isn’t she, Lena?” Eve asks, startling Lena. She’s giving Lena that knowing look, and Lena is tempted to throw her rag at her when she grabs it from behind her.

 

“Get back to work,” Lena snaps, but there’s almost no bite to it. Eve just grins and bustles over to a table in the corner.

 

A part of Lena hopes that Kara never comes back. She likes the way things are, and she has a feeling that Kara is the type of person who comes into your life like a hurricane. And Lena doesn’t need that kind of mess.

 

She scrubs hard at the nonexistent smudge on table eight after she clears it.

 

Lena doesn’t want anything to change.

 

* * *

 

But Kara comes back. Every day.

 

It’s two months after Kara’s moved in, and she practically stumbles into the diner and throws herself into one of the stools at the counter right in front of Lena.

 

“Bad day?” Lena asks, and Kara just groans, putting her face in her hands.

 

Lena’s already pouring a cup of coffee, heavy with milk and eight sugars, towards Kara before she can even ask.

 

“Thanks, Lena,” Kara says, pulling the coffee into her hands and taking a big gulp. “God, you’re a life saver.”

 

“That’s my job,” Lena says, smiling at Kara, and she knows her gaze is much softer than it should be when she’s just looking at a regular.

Although, she supposes that she can consider Kara a friend. They’ve talked more than Lena ever has with anyone else in the town. Sometimes even for hours, when Kara doesn’t have anything else to do. They even exchanged numbers about a month ago. Even after Lena had admitted that she rarely finds use for her cell phone, Kara still insisted just in case. Lena still wonders exactly what she meant, since most of Kara’s texts are emojis detailing her day or a quick text of, _I’m dying, be there in five. Have my drink ready please_.

 

“It really is. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Kara tells her. “I’m gonna need about five more cups if I’m gonna make it to the town meeting tonight.”

 

Lena winces. She hasn’t gone to a town meeting in years, doesn’t want to listen to everyone fight for an hour and a half about things she couldn’t care less about. But Kara? She loves them. She always comes to the diner the next day and keeps Lena up on everything she’s missed, tells her that she should come along next time. Lena always says no and always tries to convince herself that Kara doesn’t look hurt when she does.

 

“I’m sure they wouldn’t miss you this one time,” Lena assures her, but she’s already grabbing her coffee pot to fill Kara’s cup up again.

 

“Well, then, you’d just have to go and tell me what happened,” Kara says, and she looks at Lena, giving her a tired grin.

 

Lena scoffs. “Why would I go? Doesn’t your sister go with you?”

 

“Not since Sam had Ruby!” Kara whines. “I can’t miss out on the drama just because I had a bad day at work, Lena!”

 

Kara turns a pleading look towards Lena and Lena can feel her shoulders slump in response. She already knows what she’s going to say.

 

“Fine,” Lena mutters. “I’ll go.”

 

“Thank you so much, Lena!” Kara practically squeals. She leans across the counter so she can throw her arms around Lena’s shoulders, pulling her into a tight hug—or, as tight as it could be with an entire counter between them. Lena tentatively brings her hands up to wrap around Kara’s back, and her mouth upticks into a tiny, disbelieving grin. She closes her eyes, savoring the way Kara feels in her arms.

 

Eve is smirking at her when Lena opens her eyes. She quickly pulls away from Kara and clears her throat.

 

“I’ll let you know what happens tomorrow,” Lena says, looking down at the counter. She misses the way Kara’s face falls at her tone. “You should go get some rest.”

 

Kara smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Lena doesn’t notice—she’s already moving to take table number five’s order. Kara still waves goodbye, and Lena still waves back.

 

Lena’s so far gone on Kara it’s driving her crazy. She’d never go to a town meeting for anyone and, here she was, going to one just because Kara asked her to. And Eve could tell, too. She wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in the town knew that Lena Luthor was sweet on The New Girl. Just the thought made her want to be swallowed up by the ground.

 

She hated being the center of the town gossip, and she vowed to never be the center of it again after calling her The New Girl had finally wore itself out. The last thing she wanted was her love life—no matter how unrequited it was—to be the new talk of the town.

 

She’d just have to ignore the way Kara makes her insides feel tingly and the way she can’t resist smiling around her. Or the way seeing Kara walk in is the highlight of her day or how she can listen to Kara talk about everything and nothing for hours. How she wants to hear everything Kara has to say. How she would love it if Kara talking to her was the first thing she heard every day and also the last.

 

Lena shakes her head.

 

She’s going to get over this.

 

After she goes to the town meeting, of course.

 

* * *

 

 

Kara walks in bright and early the next morning, an hour earlier than she usually does. Lena is serving breakfast to table seven when she walks in, and she just about drops both plates when Kara smiles at her. She offers a rushed smile to the man and the woman at the table before heading back to the counter.

 

“Hey, Lena!” Kara calls, smile wide. Lena almost runs into a table when she sees how beautiful Kara looks that morning.

 

Kara’s face is flushed from the cold weather and her eyes are bright and practically twinkling. Her lips and nose are red. Lena wants nothing more than to kiss along Kara’s cheeks and nose and lips until she’s warm again.

 

“Good morning, Kara,” Lena says when she’s finally behind the counter. She automatically pours Kara coffee—it’s just a reflex at this point.

 

Kara smiles gratefully when Lena slides her the coffee and she takes a long sip.

 

“Getting hooked on this stuff was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Kara moans, and she already looks a little warmer.

 

Lena smiles. She thinks Kara getting hooked on coffee may be the best thing that’s ever happened to her, too.

 

“Want anything to eat?” Lena asks, though she doesn’t know why she bothers. Kara always wants something to eat, Lena’s learned that quickly.

 

“I could really go for some bacon and eggs,” Kara says, and she licks her lips at the thought. Lena can’t help but trace the movement with her eyes. “Oh! And a chocolate croissant, please.”

 

Lena nods, then calls the order back to Jess. She grabs a croissant from one of the cake plates on the counter and puts it on a small plate. She passes it to Kara.

 

Kara pulls off a piece and takes a bite, moaning in a way that very much makes Lena want to take her break early. She pushes down the thought and just gives a low laugh.

 

“God, Lena, you’re the best,” Kara mumbles into her croissant. “Seriously. Will you marry me?”

 

Lena freezes, her heart stuttering to a halt in her chest before picking up double time. She knows Kara’s kidding—of course she knows. But, god, if she wouldn’t say yes...

 

Lena forces out a laugh and says, “Buy me a ring first, and we’ll see.” She immediately turns and heads into the kitchen, her mind and heart racing.

 

She knows Kara hadn’t meant anything by the comment, but it was hard not to get worked up over it. Not when she fantasizes every night about what it would be like to be mar—

 

“You okay, boss?” Jess asks. Lena whips around, and Jess is standing behind her, looking concerned.

 

“I’m fine,” Lena sighs, pulling herself together. She can do this. This isn’t the first time she’s been halfway in love with a straight girl. Even if this does feel different.

 

Jess gives her one last concerned look, then hands her Kara’s food. Lena makes her way back into the diner, setting Kara’s food down in front of her. Kara doesn’t look up—she’s doing something on her phone and she’s frowning heavily.

 

After a moment, Kara looks up, sees the food, and mumbles, “Thanks, Lena.” She goes back to her phone.

 

Lena bites her lip to stop herself from looking disappointed. She moves from behind the counter and begins taking orders and checking up on the occupied tables. It’s still early enough that there isn’t many people in the diner, and it’s just Lena taking orders and serving.

 

Kara gets up abruptly ten minutes later, her food only half finished.

 

“You can tell me about the town meeting later, right?” Kara asks, only tearing her gaze away from her phone for a fraction of a second.

 

“Of course,” Lena answers, and now she’s a little worried. “You want your food boxed?”

 

Kara gives her a grateful smile. “That would be great.” Lena hurries to do just that, and a minute later she hands Kara her food over the counter. “Thanks, Lena.” Kara sways forward for a second, like she did the day before when she gave Lena a hug. She seems to think better of it, and turns away instead, throwing one last terse smile and a wave to Lena before she leaves.

 

Lena’s in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

 

* * *

 

 

Kara doesn’t come back later that day. Every time the door to the diner opens, Lena jerks around in anticipation, but it’s never Kara. She tries to convince herself she doesn’t care.

 

She’s upstairs in her apartment above the diner twenty minutes after closing when she hears banging around downstairs. Her first thought is that someone’s broken in before she remembers that she lives in a small town where there hasn’t been a crime worse than speeding in twenty years.

 

She rushes down the stairs and hears, “Dammit! Stupid chair!” before she steps into the diner.

 

Lena flicks on the light, and Kara is standing in the middle of the diner, surrounded by chairs she has knocked off two of the tables.

 

Lena just looks at her. Kara smiles sheepishly and reaches up to adjust her glasses.

 

“I couldn’t see,” Kara defends feebly. Lena rolls her eyes, but she knows her mouth is curling into a smile.

 

“Just clean it up,” Lena orders, bracing her hands against the counter.

 

Kara nods and picks up one of the chairs, placing it back on top of the table. Lena pretends like seeing how easily Kara lifts the chairs that’s usually a bit of a strain for her doesn’t affect her.

 

“How did you even get in?” Lena asks, watching the way the muscles in Kara’s back shift when she picks up a chair through her thin blazer. She can’t help imagining how she would look without any clothes to block the view. She ducks her head and looks away.

 

“Jess was just locking up when I showed up. She let me in,” Kara explains, setting down the last chair.

 

Lena shakes her head. Jess must have forgotten something after she left and came back again. It happens all the time.

 

Kara walks up to the counter, her hands tucked in her pockets and a wide grin on her face.

 

“I’m glad she did, I was really looking forward to seeing you again, Lena,” Kara admits, sitting at her usual stool and dropping her chin into her hands.

 

Lena can feel herself blushing and immediately turns away, pouring Kara a coffee on reflex. It’s well past midnight now, and she knows she shouldn’t, but she pours herself a cup, too.

 

“So,” Kara begins, leaning forward across the counter slightly. “What’s the gossip?”

 

Lena immediately launches into the details of yesterday’s town meeting. How Mrs. Smith had run over Mrs. Bryan’s garden gnomes and was refusing to pay compensation for “small ugly trolls”. Kara almost spits out her coffee when Lena tells her that they’d almost started fist fighting in front of the entire town.

 

“I can’t believe I missed that!” Kara laughs, and it’s the best sound Lena thinks she’s ever heard. “I can never miss a town meeting again!”

 

Lena laughs along with her because, yeah, the whole thing was pretty funny. She supposes that the town meetings weren’t actually so bad when you only went for a laugh.

 

“I’m so glad I moved here,” Kara goes on, shaking her head. “Working for Cat Grant’s been hard, but living near Sam and Alex? The town meetings? All the people and events and the atmosphere? You? I really love it here.”

 

Lena’s heart stutters to a halt when Kara includes her on the list. Kara really thinks that Lena’s one of the best things to come out of moving to Willow’s Peak? She bites her lip. Kara probably just means the coffee and the food.

 

“It is a really great place,” Lena finally agrees after a long moment. “I felt the same way when I first moved here.”

 

Kara’s eyebrows furrow. “I didn’t know you moved here.”

 

Lena laughs, pouring herself more coffee.

 

“I moved here seven years ago,” Lena tells her, wrapping her hands around her mug. “I fell out with my family over...things and I wanted to get as far away from them as I could, so I came here. I opened up this diner and...” She trails off, taking a sip of her coffee.

 

Kara looks intrigued and her lips quirk up into a smile.

 

“So you really did all of this by yourself?” Kara asks, and Lena nods. “That’s impressive.”

 

Lena shrugs. “I used to be a CEO, so by those standards, this is a fairly large step down.”

 

Kara actually chokes on her coffee this time. Lena jumps to help her somehow, but Kara waves her off and clears her throat.

 

“Sorry, I just...can’t picture you as a CEO,” Kara admits, looking Lena up and down. Lena can get it—her causal t-shirt, jeans, converse, and cheap headband don’t exactly scream former CEO.

 

“I was always different,” Lena murmurs into her coffee. “But I used to be exactly what you’d think a CEO would be like. I didn’t own anything under like two hundred dollars. My entire wardrobe was designer. I didn’t even know how much a loaf of bread costs.” Lena shakes her head. “But I always loved to cook. I used to help our private chef in the kitchen even though my mother told me not to. She taught me everything I know. When I moved out, I would cook for myself, even though my family thought it was strange. When I was disowned, it was an easy choice to open a diner.” She smiles, and notices the way Kara’s looking at her, her eyes soft. Lena vaguely wonders why. “I’ve never felt more like myself than I do now.”

 

Kara looks at her for a long moment, before she ducks her head, smiling.

 

“I’m happy for you, Lena. You deserve it,” Kara tells her sincerely. Lena meets her gaze, and it feels like something is buzzing between them, a magnetic current that’s pulling at Lena to move forward and kiss Kara until she can’t remember anything else but what it’s like to kiss her. She forces away the urge and looks away.

 

“I think...” Kara starts hesitantly. “I think, for me, I’ve already found what I’m meant to do—I love being a journalist. But I’ve always felt like something was missing. Like there’s still some part of me that I don’t understand and I want to so badly.” Kara bites her lip. “I think, maybe, it’s not my job that’s going to make me feel more like me. Maybe it’s a person. Someone who makes me feel like I can be me, no matter what.”

 

Lena can tell Kara eyes are fixed on her—giving her a strange, almost expectant look.

 

“I hope you find that person, then, Kara,” Lena says, trying not to think about how much she wishes that person could be her.

“I think I already might have,” Kara confesses. When Lena finally allows herself to meet Kara’s eyes again, Kara’s eyes are intense and Lena feels that energy again, pushing her towards Kara like an unstoppable force, and god, she doesn’t know if she can pull away from it this time.

 

There’s a loud beep from upstairs, and Lena jerks away from Kara, startled.

 

“What is that?” Kara groans, and she sounds annoyed for some reason.

 

“My oven,” Lena realizes. “I was just about to make dinner. I had preheated it right before I heard you downstairs.”

 

“Oh,” Kara sighs, and she sounds dejected. “I better get going, then. You should eat, it’s late.”

 

Kara reaches into her bag to get her wallet, but Lena stops her.

 

“You don’t have to pay, Kara,” Lena tells her softly.

 

Kara smiles, but drops money on the counter top anyway.

 

“See you tomorrow,” Kara murmurs, getting up from the stool.

 

Lena watches her leave, and wishes that she never had to go.

 

* * *

 

 

Ever since that night, Kara has been different, Lena notices. She still comes by every day, smiles just as bright at Lena, but something seems different. Like Kara is holding herself back.

 

A week later, Eve, Jess, and Alana are huddled around the counter for their weekly gossip session, and Kara still hasn’t come to the diner, even though it’s well past eight thirty, which is when she usually shows. Lena is wiping down the counter from where it had been spilled on an hour ago—it was still sticky, no matter how much she tried to wipe it.

 

“Did you hear the news?” Alana asks the other two girls, barely managing to contain her excitement. “This is gonna suck for you, Eve, sorry.”

 

“What is it?” Eve asks, and Lena can hear the frown in her voice.

 

“Is it about Mike?” Jess guesses, and Lena winces.

 

Mike is Mike Mathews, the local mechanic just down the road from Lena’s diner. He’s the most obnoxious person Lena’s ever met, and she remembers vividly when he first moved to town. He’d come to the diner every day just to flirt with Lena no matter how many times she’d turn him down. Even telling him she’s a lesbian didn’t deter him in the slightest. It hadn’t been until Eve had taken him up on his flirting that he’d finally left Lena alone. They’d dated for five months before Eve broke up with him for cheating on her.

 

Apparently he’d turned over a new leaf, gotten a long term girlfriend—Imra, who worked at the bookstore—and the two had gotten engaged over the summer. The gossip had been rampant when they broke up just a month ago.

 

“Yeah!” Alana answers. “Apparently he asked Kara Danvers out!”

 

Lena sucks in a sharp breath, before attempting to calm herself down. There’s no way Kara would go out with a guy like him. He was crass and rude and disrespectful, and Kara was, well, perfect.

 

Lena picks up a tray and begins cleaning off the counter, picking up the empty stray mug and plates.

 

“Well, what did she say?” Jess prods.

 

“Well, she said yes!” Alana announces, and the tray Lena’s holding falls straight out of her hands and onto the floor.

 

A loud crash sounds as the tray clatters and the mugs and plates shatter. The silverware goes skidding across the diner.

 

Jess, Eve, and Alana are immediately on top of her, cleaning up the mess on the floor while Lena just looks blankly at her hands. Jess grabs her on the shoulder.

 

“You okay?” she asks softly, and Lena finds herself shaking her head no before she can even think. “Why don’t you take a break? The three of us can handle it.”

 

Lena nods, and immediately heads out of the diner and up to her apartment, almost dazed. Subconsciously she had always known that Kara would find a guy, and, she supposes she should have seen this coming. Kara had told her just last week that she found someone who made her feel happy.

 

Jealousy curdles in Lena’s stomach like poison. She couldn’t imagine how Mike Mathews could make Kara any happier than she could.

 

She doesn’t go back down to the diner that day, she just sits in her room and tries to drown out her feelings in the biggest bottle of whiskey she could find in her liquor cabinet. She finds that as much as it dulls her pain, it never goes away. It just aches and aches and aches.

 

* * *

 

 

Lena wakes up the next day with the hangover from hell. She barely manages to get herself out of bed, pushing down the nausea and trying to ignore the headache.

 

She knows she looks horrible from the way Jess looks at her when she comes in to work. She doesn’t say anything, which Lena thinks is worse than if she had.

 

Lena can’t even begin to hide her sour mood; her head hurts too badly to even begin to consider how bad it is for business. It isn’t even really—she is the only diner in town, after all.

 

“Heard the news, huh?” Lucy asks, giving her a sympathetic look. James isn’t with her today, and Lena is glad. They tend to mirror each other, and if Lena has to see their twin pity she might have broken something.

 

Lena just grunts and continues restocking the pastries in the cake dishes on the counter.

 

“You know, my sister started dating Kara’s cousin a few months back,” Lucy starts, eyeing Lena across the counter. “Told me that when she visited Clark’s—Kara’s cousin’s—family Kara was there. Wore a lot of flannel. Popped open some beer bottles with just her hands. Picked up some hay like it was nothing.”

 

Lena stops stacking and looks at Lucy who has that glint in her eye she gets when she’s being a little sneaky.

“Why are you telling me this?” Lena asks, and she thinks she knows why, but she kind of needs to hear Lucy say it.

 

“No reason,” Lucy tells her innocently. “But Lois also told me that Kara checked her out and warned Clark that if he messed things up with her, she would absolutely take the rebound. And she was definitely serious.”

 

Lena has to stop herself from even thinking about smiling, but it sounds just like something Kara would say.

 

“I’m just saying, Lena. I’m pretty sure Kara would rather be going out with you.” Lucy gives her a wink and drops her money down on the counter, waving before she leaves.

 

Lena would wonder if maybe Lucy was right, if it weren’t for the killer headache and Kara walking through the door less than a moment later.

 

“Hey, Lena!” Kara calls, and sits at the counter right in front of her. She spins back and forth in her chair like she always does, and the childlike gesture makes Lena’s heart sing a little bit, even through her bad mood.

 

Lena offers her a small smile that just reaches her eyes, much less than she usually gives Kara. Kara’s smile drops a tick.

 

“You okay?” Kara prods. Her brow furrows and her lips purse.

 

“I’m fine,” Lena replies shortly and immediately wishes she hadn’t once Kara’s smile drops further.

 

“Okay,” Kara says softly. “Can I take my coffee to go?”

 

Lena instantly feels guilty. She hopes desperately that Kara had been planning to leave with her coffee before Lena had snapped at her. If she’s going to possibly lose Kara to Mike at least somewhat, she’d rather not push her away any further.

 

But Lena just nods and gets to work, pouring her a coffee, adding milk and an obscene amount of sugar, and hands it to her across the counter.

 

“Have a good day,” Lena mumbles, and moves around the counter to take some orders now that Alana is taking a quick break.

 

She doesn’t hear the door chime that would signal Kara leaving, and instead feels a hand slide down her arm to grip her wrist gently.

 

Lena turns and Kara is standing next to her, much closer than she’d like her to be when they’re in her diner and surrounded by people. Not quite close enough if they were alone.

 

“Me and Alex are having a movie night tonight,” Kara says lowly. “It’ll be a little late—” Lena resists the urge to look away when she remembers why. “—but I’d really like if you’d come.”

 

And, this is exactly what Lena loves about Kara. She just seems to know that Lena doesn’t want to talk about what she’s upset about, and she knows that Lena needs someone to hold her close instead of trying to get it out of her. To let her know that whatever it is that’s upsetting her, Kara isn’t going to leave her.

 

Lena is so fucking in love with her she thinks she might die.

 

“I’ll be there,” Lena promises, and Kara smiles. It’s like looking at the sun, and Lena can already feel her chest warming.

 

“Ten okay?” Kara asks, and Lena nods. Kara ducks her head, her smile still firmly in place, and gives Lena’s wrist a squeeze before she lets go. She waves at Lena before she opens the door, and Lena watches her walk away until she disappears around the corner.

 

She’s absolutely screwed.

 

* * *

 

 

When she’s pulling on her warm winter coat, Lena supposes she should be at least somewhat nervous about meeting Kara’s sister.

 

She already knows Alex, quite well, actually. Alex has been a regular at her diner for years, less so once Sam got pregnant, and they’ve spoken at town meetings and events before. They have each other’s phone numbers. Lena would even go far enough to say that they are causal friends.

 

But, this is different. Lena is in love with Alex’s sister, and she knows that Alex will instantly be able to tell. She’s probably the most perceptive person Lena’s ever met. If she can’t tell how Lena feels for Kara, Lena’s probably doing something wrong.

 

And if Alex doesn’t approve, well, Lena thinks she may just kill her. She’s a little scary like that.

 

Lena debates whether or not to walk to Kara’s house. It’s cold, but Lena would like to pass on another opportunity for Kara to make fun of her Prius. She can already see it.

 

_“I still can’t believe you have a Prius,” Kara will chortle, shaking her head. Lena will scoff and cross her arms._

_“I’m sorry if I care about the environment, Kara,” Lena will snap, which will only make Kara giggle even more. And then Lena will have no choice but to smile because the only way Kara can ever get any cuter is when she laughs._

_“You don’t care about looking like a nerd, though,” Kara will joke, her grin so wide it will look like it’s splitting her face. Lena will just shake her head and bite her lip because, god, she can’t resist Kara._

 

Lena gets in her car and heads to Kara’s house, thinking of her smile the whole way there.

 

When she arrives, Kara is sitting on the porch, playing on her phone. Her eyes light up when she sees Lena coming up the hill, and she jumps out of her seat to greet her.

 

“Lena!” Kara exclaims, coming down the steps and pulling Lena into a tight hug. Lena can feel herself melt into it immediately—she doesn’t know how Kara can be so warm when she seems to have been outside in the snow for a while. She tucks her face into Kara’s neck before she can stop herself, and Kara squeezes her a little tighter.

 

“Do I get a hug, too?” a voice asks from next to Kara, and Lena jumps away from Kara like she’s been burned. Maybe she has—her entire face heats up until she knows she’s bright red.

 

Alex is standing next to them, her eyebrows raised as her eyes flicker between the two of them. Lena knows that Alex has already figured out that Lena has a thing for Kara, without even really seeing them interact.

 

“Yeah, of course,” Kara says, fixing her glasses and pulling Alex into a much shorter hug.

 

“Let’s go inside,” Alex suggests once they pull away. “I’m freezing, but...” Her eyes move between the two of them again, and her mouth upticks into the smallest smirk. “You two seem fine.”

 

Kara puffs out a laugh, a little too enthusiastic for what was barely a joke, and lightly slaps Alex on the shoulder. Or, it looked light, but Alex whines, “Ow!” and slaps Kara back. Kara rolls her eyes, muttering, “I barely touched you.” They bicker the entire way up to Kara’s house, and Lena has to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling. She remembers when she and Lex used to do that. The memory sobers her up a little.

 

After they get inside, Kara rushes into the kitchen to get some popcorn going while Alex picks the movie.

 

“It’s good to see you, Lena,” Alex greets her. She motions for Lena to sit on the couch and sticks her head in Kara’s huge DVD collection to find a movie for them to watch. “Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

 

“You’ve had your hands full with the baby, haven’t you?” Lena asks, sitting down as Alex directed. “That’s a lot more important than breakfast.”

 

Alex snorts, and when she comes out of the DVD cabinet to smile at her, Lena can definitely tell how tired she looks. The bags under her eyes are much more pronounced than they had been before, but she also looks even happier than she did before.

 

“Not as much with Kara around,” Alex says, popping a DVD in the player. “Sometimes I think that Kara’s gonna steal Ruby and keep her for herself. And I don’t even think Ruby would mind.”

 

Lena laughs. She knows how much Kara loves kids. Every time someone comes in the diner with a baby Kara can’t help but wave to them or make faces at them. She can only imagine how good she is with her niece.

 

Or how she’d be with her own kid. Lena tries really hard not to think about that.

 

Kara comes in then with wine and a heaping bowl of popcorn. She places the popcorn on the coffee table and grabs some wine glasses to fill up. When Kara hands a glass to Lena, their fingers brush, and Lena has to stop herself from blushing again.

 

Kara settles down on the couch between Lena and Alex, legs crossed and tucked beneath her, and pulls the popcorn bowl onto her lap.

 

“What’re we watching?” Kara asks, grabbing the remote to hit play. Alex tells her the title, a movie that Lena does recognize, and it starts.

 

Lena finds herself only half paying attention to the movie, more content to just watch how enthralled Kara becomes into it. The way she laughs and smiles and winces when something bad happens. She’s more interesting than any award winning movie, Lena decides.

 

“So, how did your date go?” Alex asks, almost mockingly, when they have to pause the movie so Kara can make more popcorn.

 

“Fine,” Kara mumbles, shoulders tense. She clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, but Alex pays that no mind.

 

“Kara,” she sighs. “You know you’re a—”

 

Kara lunges at Alex and clamps her hand over her mouth before she can finish.

 

“Shut up!” Kara hisses. Alex’s only response is to lick Kara’s hand. Kara yelps and jumps away, then wipes her hand on Alex’s sweater. Alex shoves her away, groaning.

 

Lena watches the exchange, and decides that she should go before Alex tries to get Kara to talk again. She excuses herself to the bathroom, but their voices still drift down the hall after her.

 

“Kara,” Alex begins slowly. “I don’t know why you’re doing this.”

 

Lena closes the door to the bathroom behind her, but she still hears Kara huff.

 

“I want to be happy,” Kara explains, and the way she says it makes Lena want to hug her. She sounds desperate for it. Lena just perches on the closed toilet and closes her eyes.

 

“You can be happy!” Alex insists. “Look at me and Sam, we’re so happy together! You can have that, too, Kara! But you aren’t going to find that with Mike.”

 

“Maybe I can!” Kara protests. “Maybe it can be that easy!”

 

“It can be that easy,” Alex replies. “You’re just trying to find it with the wrong person. The right person is right here, and I think you know that. I think that’s why you’re doing this. You’re too afraid to take the leap.”

 

“Maybe I’ll take a leap once I learn how to fly,” Kara snaps.

 

The microwave beeps, signaling that the popcorn is done.

 

It goes silent after that, and Lena is left to wonder just who exactly Alex thinks is the right person for Kara, and why she thinks that Kara could never be happy with Mike.

 

She decides that Alex and Kara’s heart to heart is over, so she flushed the toilet and washes her hands. When she comes back in the room, the two are back on the couch and silently sipping their wine.

 

Lena tentatively sits back down on the couch, and Kara gives her a forced smile. Her head seems to be somewhere else as they finish the movie.

 

Lena is pleasantly buzzed once the movie is over, and her insides feel warm. She’s not sure if that’s from the alcohol or just being around Kara. She’s known both to give her the same warm feeling.

 

Alex bids them goodbye once the movie is over, claiming that Sam must be exhausted. She gives Kara a hug and kisses her on the head, whispering something in her ear that Lena can’t make out. Kara nods, and Alex gives her a pointed look, then leaves.

 

Kara turns to Lena and gives her a lazy smile that makes think that Kara may be just as tipsy as her.

 

“You wanna watch another movie?” Kara asks, sitting back down on the couch, directly next to Lena so that their thighs are touching. Lena feels every thought wipe instantly from her head.

 

“I should probably be heading back,” Lena admits once her brain starts functioning again. As much as she would love to spend another two hours sitting next to Kara alone, it’s probably not a good idea after all of the wine. “The diner opens early and it’s already past one.”

 

Kara seems to only just realize the time then, and she bites her lip.

 

“You could stay over,” Kara offers, reaching up to fiddle with her glasses. “You shouldn’t drive after you had so much wine.”

 

Lena ducks her head.

 

“You saw the Prius?” she asks, her mouth curling up just slightly.

 

Kara laughs, and, god, Lena thinks that if she bottled up Kara’s laugh it could cure every disease.

 

“Of course I did,” Kara says, mouth stretched in a huge grin.

 

“You didn’t say anything,” Lena points out, and Kara shrugs.

 

“You were having a bad day and I know you don’t like it when I make fun of it,” Kara tells her and.

 

It takes everything Lena has not to kiss her right then and there.

 

She knows her gaze is awed when she looks at Kara, she doesn’t even bother trying to hide it. Kara is the best person Lena’s ever met, she doesn’t think she ever stood a chance of not falling in love with her.

 

Kara is staring back at her, a certain twinkle in her eye that Lena so desperately wants to believe is affection.

 

“You should stay the night,” Kara suggests softly. “I have a guest room you can stay in. It’s no problem at all.”

 

Before Lena can protest, Kara adds, “I’d hate if you got hurt because I let you go home in your car or alone drunk.”

 

Lena bites her lip and nods. She can’t protest that. Kara smiles, her eyes still soft, and takes her hand.

 

Lena almost can’t believe how good Kara’s hand feels in hers. When their fingers curl together, it’s like the solution to a puzzle.

 

Kara leads her to the guest room and ushers her inside.

 

“Well...this is it,” she announces, gesturing her hand across the room in a sweeping motion.

 

Lena nods, her eyes fixed on Kara as she fidgets nervously. Lena has the inkling that Kara has something to tell her, and that it has something to do with what Alex said.

 

She doesn’t. She just looks at Lena for a long moment and bids her goodnight, turning to leave.

 

“Wait,” Lena calls softly, catching Kara’s arm. Kara looks back at her, eyebrows raised.

 

Lena blames it on the alcohol, but she gets up on her tiptoes and presses a soft kiss to Kara’s cheek.

 

“Goodnight,” she whispers, biting her lip.

 

Kara blinks, seemingly in shock. An almost awed smile appears on her lips, and she looks down at her feet.

 

“Goodnight, Lena,” Kara repeats. She turns to leave, and this time, Lena lets her.

 

Lena doesn’t let herself think about it. She just climbs in the bed and falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. She thinks that it’s something about being in Kara’s house that makes her get the best night of sleep she’s had in a long time.

 

* * *

 

 

Lena wakes up at six so she can make it to the diner to open on time, but she leaves a note on Kara’s kitchen counter to let her know she left. She once again blames the leftover alcohol in her system on her signing the note Lena xx.

 

Things change for the better after that movie night. Kara no longer seems to hold herself back around Lena, which she is grateful for.

 

Kara doesn’t break up with Mike, but Lena only knows that through the gossip from Eve, Jess, and Alana. Kara never brings him up to Lena, and Alex never mentions him at movie night again, at least that Lena has heard. But Kara seems to take every opportunity she can to touch Lena. When Lena slides her her coffee she grabs it from Lena’s hands so that their finger will brush. She reaches across the counter to touch Lena’s hand while they talk. If Lena is taking orders when Kara leaves, Kara will brush a hand along Lena’s lower back as she comes in close to say her goodbyes.

 

She continues to invite Lena to movie night each week, and Lena happily accepts each time. When they sit on Kara’s couch, Kara always sits close enough to her that their legs are touching completely, and sometimes she puts her arm on the couch behind Lena’s neck when Lena sits in the middle. One time, when Alex tried to sit in the middle, Kara still squeezed in between Lena and Alex. Alex snickered to herself until Kara whacked her, which ended up dissolving into the two grown women play fighting on Kara’s couch.

 

Lena doesn’t really understand what it all means.

 

And then Kara brings Mike for breakfast one morning.

 

Kara’s smile is incredibly forced as she enters the diner, Mike trailing in behind her with his hands tucked in his pockets and that dumb grin stuck on his face.

 

“Hey, Lena,” Kara mumbles, looking at her hands when she sits down. Mike sits next to her, tossing an arm over her shoulder. Kara seems to tense.

 

“Hey, Lena,” Mike repeats. “Coffee?”

 

Lena barely manages to muster up a polite smile, and pours Kara her usual order, and Mike a black coffee.

 

“You can let Eve know if you want anything,” Lena says, motioning towards Eve who’s taking orders across the diner. Mike winces, and Lena finds some satisfaction in that.

 

She knows Kara is watching her as she turns and heads up to her apartment, but she can’t find it in herself to look back. She doesn’t want to see Kara with him. She can feel jealously boiling up in her already, and she hates to feel that way, always has.

 

She’s back down a minute later, one of Kara’s shirts that she borrowed after staying over at her place clutched in her hand. Before she can stop herself, she’s pushing it across the counter.

 

“Thanks for letting me borrow your shirt when I stayed over, Kara,” Lena says pointedly. “It’s such a shame that mine got ruined.”

 

She doesn’t mention that it was from Kara kicking Lena’s wine glass over while her and Alex fought on the couch next to her, but she doesn’t think she has to.

 

Kara and Mike’s eyebrows both raise. Mike is looking back and forth between Kara and Lena curiously, and Kara is looking at Lena, her cheeks heating a little.

 

“Don’t mention it,” Kara says, picking up the shirt and tucking it into her bag.

 

Mike looks confused for another moment before visibility shrugging and going back to talking Kara’s ear off while Kara miserably drinks her coffee.

 

Lena decides to take pity on her and says, “Am I still coming to movie night tonight?”

 

At this, Mike’s head whips towards her, then back to Kara accusingly.

 

“She comes to movie night?” Mike scoffs incredulously. “You told me that was a sister thing!”

 

Kara rolls her eyes, shoulders squaring like she’s preparing for a fight. Lena’s heart aches at the sight. She can’t imagine dating Kara and spending enough time fighting with her that Kara knows when to physically prepare herself for one.

 

“It’s a girls thing,” Kara explains calmly. “And Lena is my friend, so, yeah, she can come.”

 

“You know she’s a lesbian, right?” Mike practically spits, and Lena freezes. “She probably has a thing for you, and you just invite her over and let her wear your clothes?”

 

Kara is out of her seat instantly, pulling Mike out of the diner and onto the sidewalk outside. They fight for a total of three and a half minutes until Mike turns and stalks away, and Kara comes back inside, angrier than Lena has ever seen her.

 

“Broke up with him,” Kara mutters into her coffee. “Sorry he was such an asshole. I should’ve never gone out with him.”

 

Lena gives Kara a long look, pursing her lips.

 

“I’m sure you had your reasons,” Lena finally says, remembering back to what Kara said to Alex at the first movie night.

 

“Well, they were fucking dumb,” Kara gripes. She drops enough money for both coffees on the counter before Lena can say anything else and leaves.

 

Lena receives a text from Kara two hours later that says:

 

Kara :)  
I think you and Alex and Sam all have the right idea.

 

* * *

 

 

Kara seems a lot happier after her breakup with Mike. Or maybe it’s the holidays, which Kara seems to be extremely enthusiastic about.

 

Kara beams when she comes into the diner one morning to see it decked out in holiday decorations. It hadn’t been Lena’s idea—Jess and Eve and Alana had insisted, and Lena had only given in once she realized how much Kara would like it.

 

Their next movie night, a few days before Christmas, is a Christmas movie marathon. Three Christmas rom coms followed by Home Alone—which, Lena never thought she’d see a woman older than thirty so enthusiastic about a movie where an eight year old almost takes out some robbers, but, apparently, “It’s a classic, Lena!”—is more Christmas movies than Lena’s ever watched in her life, and by the end she almost feels sick from the saccharine sweetness each movie has.

 

The Christmas festival is set up in town, something that Lena isn’t really interested in and never has been, but Kara is pretty excited about. She’s even more excited once it snows—“Lights always look so pretty when they glitter one the snow!” Kara insists, and Lena is inclined to agree—and she’s practically buzzing with excitement when Lena tells her about the food they had last year. Her smile seems to dim somewhat once Lena tells Kara that she doesn’t plan to go, but Lena thinks that she may have just imagined that. She seems to be convinced that she can change Lena’s mind, but Lena knows she won’t. She hasn’t celebrated Christmas in years. It reminds her too much of her family, even if their Christmases had always been cold and unwelcoming.

 

So, on Christmas Eve, Lena just leans against the counter of the diner and watches the festivities out the large window facing towards the town square, a warm mug of hot chocolate in her hands.

 

Lena looks down at her hot chocolate, wishing she had someone to spend the holiday with, that could make it something she could enjoy again after what happened with her family. Someone like—

 

The door to the diner opens, and Kara comes in, alone, with a bag in her arms and a big grin on her face. Lena can’t help but smile back, just as wide.

 

“Having fun?” Lena asks, tilting her chin towards the window, where the festival can be seen.

 

“Yeah, so much!” Kara tells her, sitting down at the stool right next to where Lena is leaning. She puts the shopping bag down on the counter. “I didn’t know small towns had the best Christmas parties!”

 

Lena chuckles into her drink.

 

“I doubt there’s anywhere as enthusiastic about Christmas as here,” Lena muses, shaking her head. “At least nowhere that I’ve been.”

 

“Me either,” Kara agrees, turning her smile on Lena. “I’ve been to a ton and there’s never been any like this. And my opinion is more objective because I don’t even celebrate.”

 

Lena looks at her, raising an eyebrow.

 

“I’m Jewish,” Kara offers. She starts unbuttoning her jacket, and Lena feels her eyebrows raise even higher, remembering all of the Christmas movies Kara made her watch. Kara notices and explains, “I just really like Christmas movies. Everyone’s always so happy in them. And, I know you celebrate, at least a little. I wanted to make you happy.”

 

Lena feels her heart melt at the words. It’s so sweet and so utterly Kara for her put on a bunch of Christmas movies to make Lena happy, even if she still likes the movies. She opens her mouth to respond, but Kara pulls open her jacket and—

 

Underneath her jacket is an ugly blue sweater with a Menorah embroidered in white and the words “Let’s get lit.” stitched above it.

 

“I have to represent,” Kara claims proudly. Lena can’t hold back her giddy laugh at the whole thing.

 

Kara’s smile stretches wider once Lena laughs, and she huffs a laugh of her own. There’s a look in Kara’s eyes, Lena realizes, but she can’t quite put a name on it.

 

“Oh!” Kara exclaims suddenly. “I got you something!” She pushes the shopping back towards Lena.

 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Lena breathes, looking at the bag. She can’t remember the last time someone had actually given her a gift, and she’s embarrassed to feel her throat tighten and her eyes begin to burn.

 

“I wanted to,” Kara replies softly. She gives Lena a long, sweet look before prodding Lena’s shoulder with the bag. “Open it.”

 

Lena does. She pulls the bag towards her. There’s red and green tissue paper sticking out of the top, and on the bag there’s a cartoon penguin hugging a cartoon polar bear, both of them wearing santa hats. Lena removes the tissue paper and looks inside.

 

“It’s a Danvers family tradition,” Kara explains, as Lena pulls her gift out of the bag. “Every year we get an ugly sweater for the first day of Hanukkah. I know you said that you don’t get to be with your family anymore, and, if they don’t want you, screw them! You’re one of the best people I know, Lena.” Kara bites her lip, her eyes pinned on the sweater. “So now that you’ve got an ugly sweater, you’re officially a Danvers, if you want.”

 

Lena looks at the sweater, her throat tightening even further. It’s the ugliest fucking thing Lena’s ever seen. It’s bright green with pictures of cats wearing santa hats and bows that are sticking out of the sweater. It’s exactly the type of sweater Lena would expect Kara to pick out.

 

It’s the best gift Lena’s ever gotten.

 

“If you don’t like it, we could always get you a different one,” Kara begins, nervously plucking at her own sweater. “I know that—”

 

“Kara,” Lena cuts in slowly. “Shut up.”

 

Kara gets that confused look on her face, the one that makes her nose scrunch up adorably, and, fuck, Lena doesn’t know if she could possibly be more in love with her.

 

Lena drops the sweater on the counter and surges forward, taking Kara’s face between her hands, and kissing her. Their lips slot together perfectly, and Kara’s hands immediately move up to grab Lena’s elbows as she kisses her back.

 

When Lena pulls away to catch her breath a moment later, Kara’s eyes are still closed and she’s breathing heavily, like she just ran a marathon.

 

“I guess you liked it, then,” Kara breathes, and the roughness of her voice makes something stir in Lena’s belly.

 

“I’m pretty sure most people kiss for the first time before the proposal, not after,” Lena points out. Kara snorts softly and leans forwards to nuzzle her nose into Lena’s cheek. Lena’s hands fall down to curl around Kara’s neck.

 

“It’s an IOU,” Kara says, her breath tickling Lena’s cheek just slightly. “Next year I’ll give you the ring.”

 

“I’ll have to hold you to that,” Lena laughs, her thumb caressing along the back of Kara’s neck. “Come upstairs with me?”

 

Kara tilts her head up, capturing Lena’s lips for a soft kiss, but it feels like more.

 

Kara pulls back and licks her lips, her eyes finally opening. She has the same intense look she did the night she came to the diner to talk about the town meeting.

 

“Merry Christmas to me, I guess,” Kara murmurs, and she lets Lena tug her up the stairs, into her apartment, and to her bed.

 

* * *

 

 

Lena wakes up Christmas morning with Kara’s arm around her waist and her lips brushing against her neck.

 

“Did you wake me up because you want coffee?” Lena mumbles, her face still half buried in the pillow.

 

Kara gives a breathy laugh in Lena’s ear and presses a soft kiss to Lena’s neck.

 

“Actually,” Kara begins, tugging Lena so she’ll roll over on her back. She laughs again at Lena’s quiet yelp of annoyance. “I want something to eat first.”

 

Lena snorts at the line, but can’t find it in herself complain once Kara tucks herself between her legs and sucks her clit into her mouth.

 

An hour and three orgasms later, Lena has practically melted into her bed, Kara giggling as she flops down next to her.

 

Lena rolls onto her side so that they’re facing each other and tucks her face into Kara’s neck kissing and biting and sucking along her collarbone.

 

“I think I owe you some presents,” Lena breathes between kisses. “Eight, I believe.”

 

Lena can feel Kara laugh, her chest vibrating against her lips. Lena makes her way down, swirling her tongue around Kara’s nipple before taking it into her mouth and sucking hard. Kara’s breath hitches.

 

“You don’t have to,” Kara protests breathily. “It’s not a big deal.”

 

“Kara,” Lena says, moving away from Kara’s breast to travel down to her gorgeous, defined abs. “I’m offering you eight amazing orgasms. Are you really going to turn that down?”

 

Kara laughs again, and shakes her head.

 

“I think you got a pretty good start on that last night,” Kara points out. “Already halfway there.”

 

So Lena gets Kara nice and wet and fingers her slow and deep until Kara is squirming and panting into Lena’s ear, the leg she has hooked over Lena’s thigh tightening around her hip. She presses wet kisses on the knob of Lena’s jaw until Lena finally takes mercy on her and rubs her clit with her thumb and she’s coming around Lena’s fingers, gasping Lena’s name against her skin.

 

“If you do that three more times I might die,” Kara giggles breathlessly afterwards. Lena snorts. Kara surely didn’t die last night.

 

They lie in silence for a long moment, both basking in the feeling of just being next to each other. Kara reaches over and takes Lena’s hand, curling their fingers together and placing them on Kara’s chest. Lena looks over to find Kara staring at her, eyes soft.

 

“I’m sorry about what happened with Mike,” Kara says eventually. “I shouldn’t have dated him.”

 

Lena shakes her head. “I...When you and Alex spoke at movie night, I could hear you. And you just wanted to be happy, I get that.”

 

“No, I wasn’t,” Kara tells her. “I thought—I thought you would never feel the same for me as I did for you. So I dated Mike. I knew it would never work, but I wanted to move on from you so badly that I didn’t care. I was willing to convince myself that what I felt for you was never even real, but...I’ve never felt about anyone that way I do you, let alone a guy. And especially not him.”

 

The heaviness of Kara’s confession weighs heavy on Lena, and she wants to reciprocate, but she knows that isn’t what Kara needs right now.

 

Instead, she rolls towards Kara, snuggling up to her side and putting her face on her chest.

 

“Guess you decided to join me and Alex and Sam, then,” Lena jokes, and Kara snorts.

 

“Baby,” Kara says, and Lena’s heart skips at the endearment, “I was always there. I just...got a little confused for a bit. I was trying to flirt with you since we first met.”

 

Lena laughs, and Kara moves her free hand to run her fingers through Lena’s hair.

 

“So when I asked how you take your coffee and you said you don’t, that was you flirting?” Lena asks, raising her head to look at Kara incredulously.

 

“You were speechless!” Kara points out, grinning.

 

Lena just shakes her head because, yeah, she can’t really deny that.

 

They lie together for a long while, Kara carding her fingers through Lena’s hair, Lena running her finger along the lines of Kara’s muscles, their hands tightly intertwined.

 

Lena supposes that it’s a good thing that things change.

 

“Lena,” Kara breaks in, startling Lena out of her thought. “If we’re dating, does this mean I get free coffee? You got me hooked on it and it’s draining my bank account.”

 

It takes everything Lena has to not shove Kara off the bed.

**Author's Note:**

> i actually can't believe that i had this done for christmas considering i had written about 4k of it over 2 months. i wrote the last 6k in the past three days lol. i thought that some parts in the later half came out a little rough so i might go back and fix it up a little bit tomorrow, but as of right now i'm satisfied with it enough to post it.


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